Tuesday
6th Jun 2023
The EU's ambition to be a digital superpower stands in stark contrast to the US — but the bigger problem is that it remains far better at regulation than innovation, despite decades of hand-wringing over Europe's technology gap.
"This [decision] might not mean much for people's rights. In practice, it would mean that actually Facebook would have to do nothing, because they would have a new legal basis under which the data can move to the US."
Six months after Qatargate, as institutional inertia and parliamentary privileges weigh in, the sense of gravity and collective resolve have all but disappeared. MEPs show little enthusiasm for reform of the rules that today allow them significant outside paid activities.
EU lawmakers intend to cede responsibility for "high risk" AI technology to two little-known technical standards organisations.
European lawmakers regulating the risks of artificial intelligence are likely to face resistance from EU states ahead of negotiations later this year and possibly even among their peers ahead of a plenary vote.
The EU Commission has outsourced its merger policy to a consultancy which counts Google as its best friend. And it's not the first time the Commission has hired consultants with a vested interest for policy advice.
European states and international organisations have developed technologies to detect migration patterns and predict the number of people from third countries seeking asylum in the EU. But doubts have been raised about the effectiveness and desirability of using predictive technologies.
The aim is "to avoid a controlled society based on AI, instead to make AI support more freedom and human development, not a securitarian nightmare" a key MEP on the file said.
The European Commission has long experience in regulating and policing complex industries, such as artificial intelligence. Even the big EU member states do not have such capacities and skills anymore.
The European Health Data Space is a new EU law proposed to make use of your medical records for research purposes. It would essentially abolish the medical profession's oath of confidentiality with their patients. We must not let that happen.
It's high time we escaped the barbed-wire-fenced private domains of Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. You don't need to search long for a key — at least if you know where to look.
Some argue that these are merely language models working with probabilities, that they have no human intelligence. But users do not care how these models generate language. They perceive it as human-like and they will often perceive it as authoritative.
In the EU, Estonia is one of the exemplary countries which was able to bring the entire country to a different level of digitisation.
Airbnb has already patented AI software that can supposedly predict a person's traits and their actions based on data it holds on them from social media. That could determine how much a consumer pays — or even gets a booking.
Back in 2014, at Nato's summit in Wales, five trust funds were created intended to help Ukraine modernise its defence capabilities — including on cyber-defence.
The launch of ChatGPT has sparked a worldwide debate on Artificial Intelligence systems. Amidst Big Tech's proclamations that these AI systems will revolutionise our daily lives, the companies are engaged in a fierce lobbying battle to water-down regulations.
Artificial Intelligence in migration is increasingly used to make predictions, assessments, and evaluations based on racist assumptions it is programmed with. But with upcoming AI Act, the EU has a chance to draw red lines on the most harmful technologies.
"We have to make the voice of workers heard and if there is a directive on their working conditions, it has to be in favour of the workers, not the platforms," said one of the leading MEPs of the report.
Japan and the Netherlands are set to agree to join the United States in restricting exports of semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China.
"We must do everything we can to be ready with this new system for the next European elections," MEP Sandro Gozi said after the committee vote.
Europe's response to Elon Musk's Starlink broadband internet system — currently used by Ukraine in its war against Russia — is to deliver its first services sometime next year.
EU Commission estimates suggest that between 1.7 and 4.1 million workers are currently misclassified as 'self-employed'.
The EU is trampling on its own values and peoples' rights to privacy and data-protection as it expands its collection of data in areas such as migration, the EU's data protection advisor tells Nikolaj Nielsen.
To avoid digital tribalism the EU needs a strategy to better engage with the Global South, including the emerging digital powers such as Brazil, Egypt, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kenya, Mexico, Singapore, South Africa, and Senegal.
The EU and China have their differences but should reinvigorate their high-level digital dialogue and work together on building a better and more connected digital world.
The digital sphere is particularly complex with a diverse range of actors and stakeholders. Working closely with each other and other like-minded partners in the Indo-Pacific, the EU and ASEAN can be voices of moderation.
A look at the history of the digital transformation taking place in Africa proves that the continent is certainly not backward. Africa has always been progressive and is currently in the midst of an exciting and disruptive digital revolution.
The illicit use of spyware in Europe is worse than the Watergate scandal which brought down US president Richard Nixon — yet EU authorities are ignoring the danger, MEP Sophie in 't Veld tells Wester van Gaal.
Forget "old-fashioned" deep fakes, the challenge to democracy posed by "fully-synthetic media" which can be created seemingly out of thin air is much greater.
Buzzwords like 'strategic' and 'autonomy' have long been heard among Brussels' policy-makers, think-tankers, and academics. However, the concept has only become a real priority recently, bringing the geopolitical role of the EU to the top of the agenda.
A showdown is likely among MEPs and governments over the EU Commission's proposal on Artificial Intelligence and fundamental rights. The legislation, likely to be agreed next year, will be key in fighting discrimination in the virtual and real world.
A metaverse gala event organised for the European Commission on Thursday (29 November) attracted a handful of confused ballon-like avatars. The gala was a part of €387,000 metaverse project, financed by the European Commission's foreign aid department.
What's a credible dystopian nightmare for a leading writer on AI and Big Data? "It's going to be the size of a mosquito and it'll be an aerial drone".
